Shillins' One-Pot Fish Sauce

Often accompanied by steamed sweet potato dumplings (called dukuna), or with rice, this delicious meal can be made in less than half an hour, and of course thyme is the magic ingredient.

November 20, 2019

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)
  • 1 lb fresh fish of your choice, or salt cod, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 lime
  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • Morton Season-All seasoned salt
  • ½ cup diced green peppers
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 5-6 springs fresh thyme
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preparation

Cover the fish in cold water, squeeze in juice of half a lime and leave about 10 minutes. Place butter in a saucepan, then layer fish on top. Add a heavy sprinkling of Season-All on top covering the fish completely. Layer peppers and onions on top of fish. Add garlic clove and fresh thyme (the more the better).

Add ¼ cup of water, or less if you’ve used extra amounts of diced vegetables, put over medium heat covered and DON’T open the lid until it’s done; just occasionally give the pot a swirl above the heat, keeping in the steam and creating a rich sauce without the addition of more water. Antiguan chefs are adamant about this step and if you lift the lid, you’ll wish you hadn’t! Let it simmer about 10 minutes at most.

While it’s cooking, in a tightly lidded jar mix mayonnaise with 2-3 tablespoons water. Close tightly and shake until it’s well mixed, smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.

Now you can shut off the burner, open the pot lid (once it has been simmering 10 minutes or so) and pour in the mayo mixture. Give the pot one more swirl and let the mayo cook in until the burner cools off. DONE!

Once you’ve made it a few times, and it always seems to turn out just a little different every time, you can adjust the portions of ingredients to your liking or add a touch of curry and, if desired, a small slice of diced hot pepper or a sprinkle of powdered red pepper, but not too much as it could overpower the sauce. I also enjoy the rich flavor the sauce develops with the addition of a few mushrooms.

Ingredients

SERVINGS: 4 Serving(s)
  • 1 lb fresh fish of your choice, or salt cod, cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 lime
  • 2-3 tbsp butter
  • Morton Season-All seasoned salt
  • ½ cup diced green peppers
  • ½ cup diced onion
  • 1 large garlic clove, minced
  • 5-6 springs fresh thyme
  • 4 tablespoons mayonnaise
We will never share your email address with anyone else. See our privacy policy.